NBA Finals: (2) Suns vs (3) Bucks, Part 1 | Suns lead 2-0

[kwsqd]

Can we all please stop with the injury narratives? Both teams won series against injured teams, had injuries of their own, and will have to deal with injuries in this series. That happens every year and neither team's success should be discounted because of it.

[Woodsanity]

Funny Bucks fans talk about injuries when they beat a Nets team with no Kyrie and a 20% Harden. Congrats.

[Hsker4Life]

You’re reeling.

Lakers > Heat. That includes the Lakers without AD. And the Heat were not “completely healthy”. They traded Bradley and Olynyk for Oladipo. Did you forget that? Hint: Oladipo didn’t play in the playoffs.

Nets without Kyrie and Harden would beat the Nuggets without Murrey? It’s possible. But the Nuggets knew they would be without Murrey for a long time. They prepared for it.

And the Hawks? Without Trae Young? Without Deandre Hunter?

Any criticism you or anyone else supporting a Bucks avatar may give PHX for their path, that exact same criticism can be applied to Milwaukee’s path. I’m sorry that upsets you.

Ok, more spin.

The Lakers were 19-17 without AD. That's not better than the Heat.

Oh look, weakness and inconsistency in your own argument. The Heat weren't healthy because they didn't have Oladipo, but the Nuggets prepared for Murray.

Right, man, it was almost as if we had a back to back MVP sitting on the shelf for two straight games and then ultimately knocked out the healthier Atlanta team in game 6 on the road. Sheesh.

The last sentence? ITS LITERALLY THE POINT IM MAKING. You're sitting there opening the door for anyone to walk right in and call the title you could win a complete fraud based upon circumstance. I didn't do that to Toronto. I didn't do that to LA. I don't do it, because those excuses say nothing other than, "My team wasn't good enough to be there and I'm salty." A ring is a ring.

I'm not reeling at all, I just understand the context of this more than you do and recognize that it's a fruitless endeavor to argue the merits of which "path is easier" but here you are anyway, trying to stir the pot and applying things one way without doing so the other. That's subjective and it's biased. I can literally do this all day, and I'm sure you could to. It's why I don't say stupid **** like, "yours was easier" to make me feel better out of insecurity. It's you who needs to settle down. Have some class and enjoy the finals.

Speaking of spin…the Lakers were 19-17 without AD, yet you conveniently fail to mention that LeBron was also out for around half of those games. Lakers without AD but with LeBron are a better team than the Heat. The Hawks without a healthy Trae and without Hunter aren’t any better than the Kawhi-less Clippers. And for two of those games against the Clippers, PHX was without CP3. And for just about the entire series against LAL, PHX was without a fully healthy CP3.

You got butthurt when a Suns fan, in response to someone putting themselves off as a Bucks fan, pointed out that the Bucks also faced off against banged up teams. There is no arguing that…you are too sensitive.

Let’s go Suns!

[Doranku]

I wouldn't have brought the Bucks into it if it wasn't a Bucks fan trolling the Suns that I was replying to. Harden was worthless going 1-10 in a game the Nets actually won and like 5-26 from 3 in the games he played including 2-22 in 2 of them. But aside from that their best player was Harris who went like 8-33 from 3 the last 5 games, under 25%, then outside of that they had a washed Griffin, Brown, and guys like Claxton and James off the bench.

Anyway, I wouldn't have brought that into it if the Bucks fan didn't start it and like I said in the rest of the post you cut out of your quote, they shouldn't apologize for beating up a team with multiple injured all All NBA caliber players either. That's the team that was put in front of them.

Doranku's been around here since February 2020 and the first mention of the Bucks in his search history was May 5th.

Well he has a Bucks logo and maybe didn't get hyped until the playoffs were close...I don't know and didn't research his post history...just noticed he was a Bucks fan according to the teams he lists as his favorites.

I just changed to a Bucks logo a couple of days ago since I will be supporting them in the finals. I'm a Lakers fan.

I'll change it back so that my comments aren't associated with the Bucks fanbase.

[JonHeist]

You’re reeling.

Lakers > Heat. That includes the Lakers without AD. And the Heat were not “completely healthy”. They traded Bradley and Olynyk for Oladipo. Did you forget that? Hint: Oladipo didn’t play in the playoffs.

Nets without Kyrie and Harden would beat the Nuggets without Murrey? It’s possible. But the Nuggets knew they would be without Murrey for a long time. They prepared for it.

And the Hawks? Without Trae Young? Without Deandre Hunter?

Any criticism you or anyone else supporting a Bucks avatar may give PHX for their path, that exact same criticism can be applied to Milwaukee’s path. I’m sorry that upsets you.

Ok, more spin.

The Lakers were 19-17 without AD. That's not better than the Heat.

Oh look, weakness and inconsistency in your own argument. The Heat weren't healthy because they didn't have Oladipo, but the Nuggets prepared for Murray.

Right, man, it was almost as if we had a back to back MVP sitting on the shelf for two straight games and then ultimately knocked out the healthier Atlanta team in game 6 on the road. Sheesh.

The last sentence? ITS LITERALLY THE POINT IM MAKING. You're sitting there opening the door for anyone to walk right in and call the title you could win a complete fraud based upon circumstance. I didn't do that to Toronto. I didn't do that to LA. I don't do it, because those excuses say nothing other than, "My team wasn't good enough to be there and I'm salty." A ring is a ring.

I'm not reeling at all, I just understand the context of this more than you do and recognize that it's a fruitless endeavor to argue the merits of which "path is easier" but here you are anyway, trying to stir the pot and applying things one way without doing so the other. That's subjective and it's biased. I can literally do this all day, and I'm sure you could to. It's why I don't say stupid **** like, "yours was easier" to make me feel better out of insecurity. It's you who needs to settle down. Have some class and enjoy the finals.

[infinite11285]

I’m rooting for CP3, Booker, Monty, and Suns fans this series.

Suns in 6. Booker for FMVP.

[Potential_64]

It's hard for me to root for the Suns. I still associate them with Charles Barkley and the villainous team that thought they could take down MJ's Bulls. They were seen as a threat at the time and all of America was rooting against them

[Perseus1966]

Funny Bucks fans talk about injuries when they beat a Nets team with no Kyrie and a 20% Harden. Congrats.

we missed DDV too.

[skones]

Speaking of spin…the Lakers were 19-17 without AD, yet you conveniently fail to mention that LeBron was also out for around half of those games. Lakers without AD but with LeBron are a better team than the Heat. The Hawks without a healthy Trae and without Hunter aren’t any better than the Kawhi-less Clippers. And for two of those games against the Clippers, PHX was without CP3. And for just about the entire series against LAL, PHX was without a fully healthy CP3.

You got butthurt when a Suns fan, in response to someone putting themselves off as a Bucks fan, pointed out that the Bucks also faced off against banged up teams. There is no arguing that…you are too sensitive.

Let’s go Suns!

I'm not butthurt, you're just dense. You literally ignored the whole point of my post which was at the end. It's like you looked at it, thought, "wow, too many words!" and then just continued on.

But hey, learning moment for you. when AD went down on 2/14, Lebron played without him until he went down on 3/21. During that span, the Lakers were 7-7. That makes them 11-8 on the season. That's 41.2 wins. The Heat won 40 with Jimmy Butler missing 20 games, Bam missing 8, Herro missing 18, and Dragic missing 22. Even if I ignore all of those others, WITH Butler, the Heat were 33-19. That's 46 wins. I did math. You did spin. There's a difference there.

[bwgood77]

Doranku's been around here since February 2020 and the first mention of the Bucks in his search history was May 5th.

Well he has a Bucks logo and maybe didn't get hyped until the playoffs were close...I don't know and didn't research his post history...just noticed he was a Bucks fan according to the teams he lists as his favorites.

I just changed to a Bucks logo a couple of days ago since I will be supporting them in the finals. I'm a Lakers fan.

I'll change it back so that my comments aren't associated with the Bucks fanbase.

Oh, ok, well that makes MUCH more sense.

[Sothron]

I am at least glad the Finals are between teams no one picked to be there. No matter who wins their fans will either get their first ever NBA title (Suns) or their first title in living memory (Bucks). I know I speak for every fan of a non LA or NY or random Superfriend team that is so, so tired of the Finals being decided before the playoffs start.

[infinite11285]

Speaking of spin…the Lakers were 19-17 without AD, yet you conveniently fail to mention that LeBron was also out for around half of those games. Lakers without AD but with LeBron are a better team than the Heat. The Hawks without a healthy Trae and without Hunter aren’t any better than the Kawhi-less Clippers. And for two of those games against the Clippers, PHX was without CP3. And for just about the entire series against LAL, PHX was without a fully healthy CP3.

You got butthurt when a Suns fan, in response to someone putting themselves off as a Bucks fan, pointed out that the Bucks also faced off against banged up teams. There is no arguing that…you are too sensitive.

Let’s go Suns!

I'm not butthurt, you're just dense. You literally ignored the whole point of my post which was at the end. It's like you looked at it, thought, "wow, too many words!" and then just continued on.

But hey, learning moment for you. when AD went down on 2/14, Lebron played without him until he went down on 3/21. During that span, the Lakers were 7-7. That makes them 11-8 on the season. That's 41.2 wins. The Heat won 40 with Jimmy Butler missing 20 games, Bam missing 8, Herro missing 18, and Dragic missing 22. Even if I ignore all of those others, WITH Butler, the Heat were 33-19. That's 46 wins. I did math. You did spin. There's a difference there.

Would you two mind continuing this spirited discussion in your PMs? Insulting each other in a pointless argument mostly unrelated to the thread would be a dumb reason to earn strikes on the eve of the Finals.

[Crives]

Go suns!

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[IamBBAnalysis]

Go suns!

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Okay, I've got allergies okay! Don't judge me. I'm just going to wipe away this tear...

[AdamTH21]

Really excited for this series. Think it makes an enjoyable, refreshing change to have two small market teams fighting it out.

Pulling for the Suns. I think they'll get it done. Paul for FMVP.

[Hsker4Life]

Here’s to a great series!

[Statlanta]

I'm expecting a blowout Game 1 win. Players this season never look right coming off injury(AD, Paul, Conley, Harden, Young).

Giannis probably gonna look awful today with a focused gameplan on him and a Western road start.

[Naero]

The biggest test for both teams this postseason fittingly comes on the biggest stage, and whoever passes it will win their franchise its first post-merger championship. It's an improbable Finals match-up, and sadly one most will chalk up to an improbable injury endemic above all.

As brightly as both have dazzled at times, there's no glossing over how many injuries have helped pave their paths. It shouldn't asterisk either conference championship—injuries have always been a part of the game, grantedly not to this extent—but it's hard to argue they've been fully battle-tested heretofore. It's no major coincidence the two finalists have been among of the few healthy contenders this postseason.

At least until midway through the ECF, when Giannis hyperextended his knee. He was finally breaking through as a post-season performer, and now we have to worry more about his injury's possible sequelae than him faltering in this realm as he did in previous years. With a suboptimal, if not sidelined, Giannis, the talent levels are matchable enough.

Granted, Giannis's injury hasn't truly set us back yet; if anything, it might have been salutary for our Xs and Os so far. The hot-seated Budenholzer was forced to experiment with new schemes rather than let his superstar routinely initiate the offense, and we've flourished so far. How synergetically Giannis will fit into our groove when he returns—which he's recovering swiftly enough to do soon—is unknowable, but we've kept the season afloat long enough to afford him more rehab time at the very least.

We most likely won't fare better against the Suns without him than we did against the Hawks, however. Although we've caught Atlanta's defense off-guard at times with our sudden changeover, this opponent won't have the same suddenty to contend with; the well-coached, well-led Suns have undoubtedly studied the ECF well, and they have more benchmarks of the Giannis-less Bucks to formulate their gameplan with.

For starters, the Suns are well-equipped to overcome our size advantage, as they've shown against the Lakers; they can even exploit it with their pick-and-roll offense, and not any less against the slow-footed Brook Lopez and a hobbled Giannis. Not only is Phoenix one of the best three-point-shooting teams; they also have proficient mid-rangers in Chris Paul and Devin Booker, whose pull-up jumpers can also feast on our deep-drop coverage that the Hawks torched in Game 1. Budenholzer, to his credit, adjusted our P&R defense well since, having them follow and switch on screeners more aggressively; but Chris Paul is much more able-bodied to outmaneuver it than an unhealthy-footed Trae Young.

Thankfully, we have elite perimeter defenders in Jrue Holiday and PJ Tucker, but it'll take more than stingy defense to outshoot the Suns; we'll need to cash in our shots much more consistently, as simplistic as it sounds. Our predictable five-out fallback hasn't helped, but the Bucks have shot subaverage even on open (29.6%) and wide-open (32.2%) three-pointers this season. It looks like a classic case of shooter's block; and unless these inexperienced Suns also succumb to it, it could be their most decisive advantage in this series.

The Suns are not only the healthier team at the moment; they're also arguably the better one. They earned the second-best record in the league against more than enough healthy opponents, and they have yet to underachieve even relative to their undermanned opponents this postseason. They'll have their fiercest test against the Bucks, but the Suns will get over the humpe with HCA, the healthier star, and—under the aegis of their coaching staff and player-coach CP3—a smarter cerebral team culture.

Bottom-line prediction: Suns in seven.

[GSWFan1994]

This is a great series for the NBA and its fans. A must watch.

I'm pulling for the Bucks. I like Giannis a lot, and think this is his time now.

However, I wouldn't be mad or sad if the Suns win. I like CP3 a lot too, and would be really happy to see him win a chip.

My sincere congratulations to both fanbases... you deserve it after so much time. Unfortunately only one will win, but take solace in the fact that you did extremely well and should be well-positioned for a return next season and beyond.

[Edrees]

If the Suns win the series, will Lebron have another finals loss on his record (You could claim the Suns-Lakers series was the real finals)

I'm kidding but I couldn't resist.